New Delhi: For decades, the red corridor of Chhattisgarh -- stretching through Bastar, Sukma and Bijapur -- symbolised one of India’s most seemingly intractable internal conflicts.
Maoist insurgents not only claimed lives but also systematically blocked development, ensuring that some of India’s poorest citizens remained trapped in isolation.
According to a report by India Narrative, their strategy was deliberate: infrastructure weakens insurgency.
"Roads expose hideouts, phone towers enable governance, and schools widen horizons -- so these became targets," the report said.
Towers were toppled, bridges mined, power lines blown up, and schools flattened, leaving tribal communities cut off from services essential to progress.
The economic fallout was severe.
Despite Chhattisgarh contributing 17 per cent of India’s mineral output in 2022-23, mining in Maoist strongholds remained paralysed.
Forest-produce markets were disrupted, agriculture suffered, and basic movement of goods became hazardous.
Entire districts functioned below capacity for years.
According to the report, the 2001 census showed literacy, electricity access and road connectivity in conflict-hit areas lagging far behind the state average. Underdevelopment fed resentment; resentment sustained insurgency.
The past decade, however, has brought a decisive change.
Under the National Action Plan since 2015, security operations have been coupled with intensive development pushes, the report said.
Nationwide, Maoist-affected districts have dropped from 126 in 2013 to just 11 in 2025, with only three in Chhattisgarh among the “most affected”.
Violent incidents have halved; civilian and security personnel deaths have fallen sharply.
This reduction in violence has cleared the way for large-scale connectivity.
Nearly 15,000 kilometres of roads have been built in LWE zones; more than 8,600 mobile towers now operate in areas where such infrastructure was once unthinkable.
Banking services have expanded, with 283 new branches opening in Chhattisgarh alone.
Villages like Chikapalli have received electricity for the first time in decades, and schools in previously inaccessible Abujhmad have reopened.
Welfare schemes, housing projects, skill centres and new tribal institutions have reached thousands.
The Niyad Nellanar rehabilitation drive has seen over 2,200 Maoists surrender in two years, many citing improved development rather than coercion.
As mining revives and agriculture stabilises, Chhattisgarh’s GSDP is projected to touch Rs 6.35 trillion in FY26, it highlights.
The shift is unmistakable: where development strengthens its foothold, insurgency loses ground. The long-shadowed districts of Bastar are finally stepping into a new era.
--IANS